At the press conference, Knecht said that the site is “preserved by permafrost, and the permafrost is melting due to climate change.” As the permafrost melts, he explains, “it exposes the very soft soil to marine erosion. The shoreline retreats and the sites get damaged.”

The University describes the work of Knecht’s team as “the first large-scale archaeological investigation into the prehistory” of the region. Knecht said the Nunalleq site is “an early Eskimo winter village.” The site “has yielded tens of thousands of in situ archaeological artifacts and tools, including preserved beach rye grass baskets and cordage” that are “extremely rare in any archaeological context.” He also noted that “the preserved human hair, fur, plant and other bioarchaeological materials are also among the largest and best preserved collections of their kind ever recovered.”